I'll Find You Again
by digitalronin
Summary: Max's life has been flipped upside down more times than he can count. Seven years after his first day at camp, David and Gwen have finally given him everything he's ever wanted: a family, a home, and love. But when the aftermath of a tragedy at Sleepy Peak High leaves him the victim of circumstances out of his control, it's going to take everything he has to take back his old life.
1. Chapter 1- The First Day

**Chapter 1- The First Day**

**A/N: Hi! Welcome to my first fanfiction! Writing has always been a nice creative outlet for me, and I've recently decided to post my work online for others to see. Camp Camp is one of the best shows I've ever watched, and while some of that can be attributed to the comedy it revolves around, the characters are what really pulled me into the show. I love the effort that's been put into each of them, and I really enjoy their characterization and the way they grow throughout the series. Naturally, it would be one of the things I'd write about, and it just happens to be the first of hopefully many stories I plan to write and post for people to read! The fic is Makki-centric, and will also contain some Gwenvid. This is going to be a longer piece of work, and so far I've really enjoyed writing it! I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

**Note: I do not own Camp Camp, and I am in no way associated with the show's owners, RoosterTeeth.**

"Goooood morning, son!" Max's face scrunched up at the sound of his dad's ever-cheery voice. A faint light from the hallway seeped into his room, dousing his bed in a warm glow. Cracking open his right eye, the seventeen-year-old slowly rolled over from his sleeping position to see David standing in the doorway, dressed in a white button-up shirt and a pair of light brown khakis with a smile stretching from ear-to-ear plastered on his face. He then shifted his attention to the digital clock on his nightstand, which read "4:30" in a bright red.

"David, it's four-fucking-thirty." The smile on his father's face fell slightly at his response but then regained its unnaturally wide shape.

"I know it is Max, but you know how it goes! The early bird gets the worm!" David gave him a little laugh, causing him to scowl and cover his ears with his pillow in a futile attempt to drown out the man's speech. "Besides, you know that as a teacher, I've got to get to school before the other students arrive! I need to make sure my classroom is ready for the first day, and I have to be there in case there's any early students! I mean, what would happen if one of your classmates got there before we did? They'd be standing there, waiting, locked out from the wonders of the classroom and the joy of learning and the- "

"Alright, alright! Jesus David, do you ever shut the hell up? God, why can't you just go five minutes without bothering me?" Max muttered, sitting upright in bed and rubbing one eye tiredly while glaring at his father with the other. David simply continued to grin, flicking on the light switch before turning around.

"Aw, don't be such a negative Nancy, Max. It's the first day of classes! You should be excited!" He chuckled. "Gwen's already up making breakfast, so I'll be in the kitchen checking up on her. Food will be done by the time you're finished getting ready for school!" He whistled that annoying tune that Max always hated, which only intensified the teenager's scowl.

"Excited to be back in that shithole you call a school? Fuck no," he muttered to himself. Swinging his legs over the side of his bed, he stood and stretched his limbs, pursing his lips as he left the comfort of his blankets. Letting out a loud yawn, he made his way to the bathroom, his feet dragging along the soft gray carpet in his room. He grimaced as his tanned skin of his feet came into contact with the relatively cold wood floor of the hallway and then the bathroom tile not long after that, where he turned on the sink and waited for the water to warm up slightly. He gave himself a good look in the mirror as he waited, his tired reflection staring back at him. A curly black mop of hair sat atop his head, casting a light shadow over his cyan eyes. A slightly hunched back and slouched shoulders completed the "exhausted high schooler" look, and he glanced over the green t-shirt he wore; one of David's old camp shirts, if he recalled correctly. He hadn't wanted it at first, mostly due to its size and his dad's comment that "he hadn't sweat in it too much" in the time he had worn it. As he grew, Max eventually took it for himself, and it ended up being one of the teenager's favorite shirts because of the comfort it afforded him.

Not that he'd ever tell David that anyways.

Splashing water onto his face and running a comb through his hair briefly to flatten a few stray strands, he backtracked his way out of the bathroom into his own room and changed into his usual attire of jeans and his blue hoodie he wore over his shirt. Discarding his pajama pants onto his bed, he then made his way down the hallway, glancing to his left into the kitchen to see David and Gwen standing in front of the stove. The latter was clearly half-asleep, her grip on a pan on the aforementioned kitchen appliance loosening as she struggled to stay awake.

"Morning Gwen," he greeted, only to be met with a half-hearted grunt from his adoptive mother. He walked by his parents towards the pantry, taking out a box of some off-brand sugary cereal and setting it on the counter.

"Hon, you're... you're going to burn the eggs at this rate..." David pointed out to Gwen, who only mumbled a response to her husband as black smoke rose up from under the three eggs that simmered in the pan before her. He gently pushed her away towards the kitchen table, taking her place at the stove. "Let me cook these Gwen. You just go have a seat, and your coffee will be ready before you know it," he said, giving her a small peck on the cheek. She dumbly mumbled another reply, stumbling past Max to the kitchen table before unceremoniously plopping herself into her regular seat. Max could hear her head slamming onto the table as he slipped behind David to get the milk from the refrigerator.

"I take it she's not used to the new morning schedule either, huh?" Max commented idly as he reached up into the cupboards and pulled out a bowl, pouring his milk inside before taking his cereal from the box. His dad let out a small laugh.

"Afraid not. Don't worry though, she'll get used to it! I'm guessing it'll be another week or two before that happens though," he said, scraping the burnt eggs into the garbage and cracking three fresh eggs. "It doesn't help that she stays up pretty late at night, either."

Max raised an eyebrow, pouring out his cereal and taking a spoonful into his mouth. "Can't she just wake up at her usual time instead of waking up with you?" He asked with a mouthful of his sugary breakfast.

"I guess she just wakes up whenever I get out of bed and can't fall back asleep. And don't talk with your mouth full, Max." His son rolled his eyes at that.

"Suck a dick, David." He took another bite of his cereal, glaring daggers in David's direction as he did so. His father, choosing to ignore his vulgar comment, held a mug under the coffee maker and watched as it filled up to nearly the brim before bringing it over to his wife, who was still slumped at the kitchen table. Max watched as David took her hand in his and gently wrapped her fingers around the mug's handle, giving her another peck on the cheek and heading back to the stove.

It was certainly odd to be able to call both his former camp counselors his parents, and Max was certain that if he were to go back in time seven years and tell his ten-year-old self that the two people he hated at camp the most would be his parents, he'd kill himself on the spot. But, loath as he was to admit it, he couldn't be happier that they had accepted him for who he was and let him into their lives. Plus, they were leagues better than his birth parents. Sure, they still weren't the best parents by any stretch of the imagination- David with his excessive nagging and everlasting cheeriness, and Gwen with her pessimistic outlook on life and weird obsession with trashy tv shows- but they were doing their best. They fed him, gave him a roof over his head, gave him an education, and so much more. They gave him their love, and with that, a family- something Max never thought he would get to truly experience, and for that, he was forever grateful to them.

He also smiled at the thought of his mom and dad even being together in the first place. At first, he was the last person on the planet who would've thought that the two of them would get together at all. David was way too cheerful and optimistic for someone like Gwen; there was no way she'd even give him a chance. But through it all, she did, and they ended up dating for nearly three years before David had mustered up the courage to ask Gwen to marry him. In fact, it was Max who told David to stop being a baby and propose.

He remembered the day they got married just two summers ago. Both had taken the day off, and they decided the ceremony would be held at none other than the pier at Camp Campbell, where they first met. He remembered how nervous David was as he stood at the altar alongside Quartermaster, waiting for Gwen to finally walk down the aisle. And he remembered the way his former counselor's jaw dropped when she finally did make her way to him. Gwen's white wedding dress contrasted her dark skin beautifully, and she wore just a touch of makeup that made her violet eyes shimmer as she was bathed by the warm glow of the setting sun. There was no way he'd forget the tears that formed in her eyes as David said his vows, nor his loud bawling as she reciprocated in kind. And then he actually cheered when they finally kissed. It was probably the first time in his life that he cheered for someone else, and though it left a slightly bitter taste in his mouth when he did so, he knew that deep down he was truly happy for them.

And don't get him started on the way he felt when he found out that they were _adopting_ him.

"... Max. Hello? Earth to Max?" He snapped out of his daze to see Gwen staring at him, her violet eyes boring into his own as she gave him a little wave. "You okay there? I've been calling your name for the past like, minute."

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine. I should be asking you that though, since you were practically like a zombie this morning," he scoffed, folding his arms across his chest after eating another spoonful of his breakfast.

"Oh. Yeah, today I got it bad. I knew last night that David had class today, but I didn't really put two-and-two together and I wasn't expecting him to wake up so early today." She rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. "I'm not at 100%, but I'm feeling a bit better now. Thank God for coffee, right?" Max just gave his mom a slight smirk. She almost made him laugh.

Almost.

"What made you ask me that anyways?" He asked, again with a mouthful of cereal. He could practically feel David's eyes boring two holes in the back of his head, but he decided to focus on Gwen and her answer rather than deal with his father's nagging again.

"Oh, you were smiling," Gwen replied, shrugging. "You never smile this early in the morning, so something's gotta be up with you. What were you thinking about, hmm?" She leaned forward, resting her chin in her left palm while she held her mug in her other hand. "School? Your classes? Oh wait! I know- thinking about seeing your friends again? Maybe a certain green-haired girl you're pretty close to?" She gave him a small toothy grin, her eyes narrowing in suspicion.

Max nearly spat out his slurry of cereal and milk at her, barely able to contain his food in his mouth as he recovered from the shock of her question. His swallow was audible, and the hesitation in his answer only made Gwen lean closer. "W-What the fuck!?" He wheezed, leaning against the kitchen counter as he glared daggers at his mom sitting at the kitchen table. "No! That's the last thing that would be on my mind! What the hell is with you and your damn questions this morning?" He felt his face heating up as he spoke, and he hoped that the orange-yellow kitchen lights would somehow hide the scarlet forming on his cheeks.

"It means I'm insinuating that you have a crush on a certain friend of yours, Max," she said, her smile growing wider with each passing moment. She looked eerily similar to David when he gave him a big smile. Maybe it was a bad thing that they got together and became his parents.

"Okay, first of all, don't look at me like that. You look like David and it's creeping me out. Second, don't use big words that I don't understand. It pisses me off. And lastly, no, I'm not thinking of anyone in particular, dammit!" He scowled, turning his back to Gwen and forcefully shoving the last spoonful of his cereal into his mouth and putting his bowl in the sink.

"Aw, Max, don't be like that. You guys would be so cute together!" David teased as Max walked by. He growled in frustration, causing the redhead to chuckle. "Usually I wouldn't say that, but as your dad I can tease you about girls now!" He and Gwen both shared a laugh at their adopted son's expense, and Max gritted his teeth.

"Just hurry up so we can go already." He glowered as he spoke, returning to his room and scooping his backpack off the floor near his desk. As he left, he could hear Gwen idly comment "He didn't deny it," and he clenched his hands into fists inside the pocket of his hoodie. What did they know? Here he was, thinking of their marriage and their family, and they have the nerve to assume he's thinking about some girl who just happens to be one of his best friends? Even if he _was_ thinking about Nikki, it wouldn't be in that way. At least he thought it wouldn't.

Wordlessly he shuffled past his parents in the kitchen and made his way into the living room, stopping in front of the couch and taking the remote off the coffee table to turn on the television. Flipping to the weather channel, he saw that there was no chance for rain and turned the tv off immediately after.

"Checking the weather? How resourceful of you, Max!" David remarked as he stood by his son. The teenager only scoffed.

"That's because unlike a lot of idiots in this world, I'm not utterly incompetent and don't forget to check what kind of shit nature is gonna throw my way when I leave the house," he said, scathingly. He turned on his heel abruptly, not noticing the glances David and Gwen shared behind his back. "Let's go already, camp-man!" He shouted, taking his tennis shoes from the shoe rack near the door and slipping them onto his feet.

"Have a good first day, Davey," Gwen said, rising from her seat to give her husband a hug and a quick kiss on the lips. He smiled at her as they embraced, hugging her tightly.

"Thanks Gwen. I hope you have a great day at work as well!" She smiled at him warmly and turned to Max as they stepped away from each other.

"You have a good day too, you little shit," she said, pointing a finger at him almost accusingly. The teenager pursed his lips, about to throw a witty remark back at her, but stopped when he saw the underlying love and affection in his mom's eyes. Sighing, he turned away and opened the door, feeling the moist air from the previous night's rain against his skin.

"Thanks Gwen. You too." He stepped outside and made his way to the station wagon, watching as David followed suit only moments later after putting on his brown loafers and locking the front door. The redhead unlocked the doors and Max quickly slid into the passenger seat, putting his seatbelt on and resting his backpack in his lap as David settled in on the driver's side. Shifting into reverse, the two slowly made their way onto the neighborhood's main road and began their several minute drive to Sleepy Peak High School. Max gazed out the window, watching the long, spindly branches of the tall trees passing by overhead as David tuned the vehicle's radio to the same nature podcast he liked to listen to in the mornings.

"Max, I'm... I'm sorry about what happened at breakfast," David began, the radio turned down, so it was nearly inaudible under his words. "If it makes you feel better, I won't make fun of you like Gwen does." Max turned to see him staring ahead through the windshield, quickly glancing over to his side of the car every few seconds. "I know it's not really the nicest thing to do when someone might have a crush on someone else, regardless of whether or not it's true. So I just wanted to say I'm sorry. Gwen will probably apologize later too." He looked stricken, and Max felt sorry for him and what had become of his morning. His only response, however, was to glower at his surrogate father, albeit less intense than before.

"I don't know why you're apologizing, because you didn't do anything. You weren't the one teasing me about something that isn't true."

"That's where you're wrong, Max; I should've realized that you were probably uncomfortable and stepped in when I saw that you were." Max's eyes widened slightly in surprise, and he was taken aback by the stern tone in David's voice and the serious look he gave him. "Even if this is all a bit trivial... a father should protect his family." For the first few moments after he spoke, Max was taken aback. He didn't quite know what to say, or how to respond to David's words. Even though he had been living with him and Gwen for several years, he found that he still had no idea how to react whenever they got serious about treating him nicely. It was especially odd for Max, since his biological parents had never once shown the kind of care his current parents did.

Rolling his eyes and turning his head away towards the window, Max huffed out his reply. "Yeah, sure, whatever David. Listen, let's just forget that conversation ever fucking happened and move on. We've still got the rest of the morning and the rest of the day at school today, so we should make it count while we still can." The last part of his sentence left a bitter taste in his mouth; he couldn't even believe he'd say such a sappy thing out loud, let alone to David of all people. But he had succeeded in making the redhead stop talking about the subject, and for now that was all that mattered.

"... Alright Max. You're right, let's just make the rest of today a good one." David returned to focusing on the road before them, a small smile on his face and a sparkle in his eyes. Max could practically feel the happiness and excitement returning to his father and radiating off of him into the space between them, and it made him sick. But he was glad that David was no longer thinking about the situation back at home and decided to just let the man have his moment for the time being.

A short while after, the quaint houses and their scraggly trees lessened in number outside the wagon's windows, signifying their proximity to the school's campus. "Well, we're here Max!" David announced, a little too loudly and cheerfully than Max would've liked, and slowed the vehicle enough to make the sharp turn into the only road that led to the school's parking lot. The grumpy teenager simply groaned in response, making David chuckle a fair bit as they pulled into their usual parking space in the staff lot just several feet from the main entrance. The duo unbuckled their seatbelts and exited the wagon, David walking to the backseat to retrieve his briefcase while Max slipped his backpack onto his shoulders.

"You can go inside, David. I'm just gonna wait out front like I usually do." Max waved his father off, pulling out his cell phone from his hoodie pocket and checking the time before opening the messaging app. David smiled softly at his son.

"Waiting for Nikki and Neil again? Alright Max. I'll see you in first period, alright?" He turned towards him and the two exchanged a brief hug before the man headed into the school while giving Max one final wave. The teen stood off to the side in front of a few hedges by the office window, watching and waiting patiently for the first buses to arrive. Looking down at the screen of his phone, he sent his two best friends a short message in the group chat they shared.

_[Hey. When will you two get here?]_ He typed out his question quickly before stuffing his phone and his hands back into his hoodie pocket. Although the air was somewhat humid and he hated it when it was moist, the temperature was a comfortable seventy degrees and waiting outside meant that he wouldn't have to talk to any of the adults in the office or any of David's co-workers.

A sharp buzzing in his pocket snapped him out of his thoughts, and he lifted his phone up to read the response to his earlier text.

_[Max, it's only five-fifteen. School doesn't start until seven-thirty and you know I don't leave my house until six-fifty. Why are you up so early?] _Max could only roll his eyes at his best friend's response.

_[Because, Neil, David woke me up early and dragged my ass out of bed so I could come here early with him. Said he needed to make sure his classroom was set up or some bullshit like that, I dunno.]_ He sighed in irritation, not wanting to wait nearly two hours to see his friends again and head inside the school. Kicking the sidewalk in frustration, he paced around for several moments, waiting for Neil to reply with a solution to his predicament as he was the brains of the group. Until he found his solution in not Neil, but Nikki instead.

_[Hey Max! I'm already up, so I can head over to the school now if you want! My mom won't even notice I'm gone anyways!] _The teenager could only smile at the ridiculous excuse for a solution that his friend had come up with in Neil's stead. Shaking his head, he typed out a quick response and prepared to wait for her arrival. He remembered about the trail in her backyard that led to her house and figured that at her normal pace the green-haired girl would be on the school's campus within fifteen minutes or less. _'The perfect time for a nap,' _he thought to himself, his eyes darting around to find a good spot to rest.Locating the nearest bench to him and dumping his backpack onto the grass before sliding into a hunched sitting position, he pulled his hood over his head and drew the front closed, pulling on the drawstrings as hard as he could. He sighed, closing his eyes and stuffing his hands into his hoodie pockets.

A small smile spread across Max's face. Maybe the first day of school wouldn't be so bad after all.


	2. Chapter 2- Reunions

**Chapter 2: Reunions**

**A/N: Hello again, and welcome to chapter 2! Nikki, Neil, and the other campers make their first appearance in this chapter! This chapter focuses more on Nikki and follows her perspective more closely than Max's, and I plan to write the other chapters following either her or Max depending on what's going on. I also plan to take it slow for the beginning to build more of the setting and characterization before moving into the meat of the plot, so expect some slice-of-life-esque chapters for now!**

**Without further ado, enjoy chapter 2 of **_**I'll Find You Again**_**!**

**Note: I do not own Camp Camp, and I am in no way affiliated with the show's owners, RoosterTeeth.**

* * *

Nikki was the kind of girl who got excited far too easily over the strangest things. She'd spot something like a weird worm on the ground and play with it until she got bored. Or she'd talk about her fantasies involving wrestling bears or finding the most poisonous animal on earth. She was also the kind of girl who was easily fascinated by anything bizarre by normal standards. She liked playing and rolling around in mud. She liked to eat bugs. She liked to go adventuring. It freaked other people out, but to her it was ordinary.

So, you could imagine her enthusiasm when Max had responded to her text with a simple "sure."

She had packed her backpack the previous night and had woken up early in anticipation of seeing her two best friends at school again, so she was fully prepared when Max had agreed to meet her in front of the school. Sleepy Peak High was far enough from her house that she was usually dropped off in the mornings by her mom, but Nikki planned to take a shortcut through the woods behind her house that led straight to the school's football field in a hike that would take her around ten minutes if she moved fast enough. Hefting her backpack onto her shoulders, she took one last look around her cheaply furnished room, making sure she wasn't forgetting anything for the first day of classes. Her small bed sat in the corner of the room by the window, her dresser and cramped desk against the wall across from it. A full body mirror leaned against the wall by her closet, which she used far more than the cracked vanity that was placed next to her bed. Dirty clothes hung from the back of her desk chair and decorated her floor in piles of different sizes and colors, and the ceiling fan creaked as it spun, the constant noise helping the green-haired girl fall asleep during long nights. She took a look at herself in her mirror; she decided to wear her hair in a low ponytail for the day, which fell over her shoulder like a waterfall of curly green. A kaleidoscope of colors presented themselves on her tye-dye t-shirt, and a pair of jean shorts hugged her hips while her toes wiggled in the plain white socks she wore over her feet as her eyes wandered to the bottom of the mirror.

It was by no means lavish nor extravagant, but for Nikki, it was enough.

Satisfied, she slipped out into the hallway, quietly shutting the door and casting a quick glance at her mother's room. Her new stepfather had only been in their lives for several months now, but she wasn't quite sure if he would be awake by now. He was a nice man and treated the two of them well enough, so she supposed he wouldn't mind if she left a bit early without telling them. Her mother certainly wouldn't care; after all, she wouldn't have to get out of bed to drive her only child to school.

Shuffling into the kitchen, the teenager jotted down a quick note on one of the sticky notes they always kept in one of the spare kitchen drawers before sliding across the smooth tile to the table. Sticking the paper to the edge, she then made her way to the shoe rack near the front door, picking up her mint-green sneakers and carrying them to the back door in the laundry room. Glancing back into the hallway to make sure no one else had awoken from their sleep, she slipped on her shoes and left, smiling as she planted her feet into the dew-laden blades of grass in her backyard. She could barely make out the sun cresting over the identical roofs of the manufactured homes in her neighborhood, and she began her trek into the woods behind her house.

The small dirt path was soft, wet with the rains from the night before, and her smile grew into a grin as the mud squished and squelched under her feet. The sixteen-year-old took her phone out from her bag, shooting her camp friend a quick text as she continued on her way. _[I'm on my way now Max! Don't have too much fun without me!]_ Clutching the device in her hand, she absentmindedly hummed a tune David once taught her at camp with a skip in her step. She crossed the old bridge over the creek, not minding the sounds of protest the decaying wood made as she moved. The green-haired girl closed her eyes in content, the faint rustling of the leaves in the tall trees surrounding her from all sides bringing back memories of her time at camp and putting her at ease. Being in nature washed away her insecurities about her performance in school and eased her worries about the upcoming track season.

Her phone vibrated in her hand, snapping her out of her reverie and making her smile as she read Max's reply. _[I wasn't planning on it.]_ She giggled at her friend's everlasting apathy and resolved to move faster to not keep him waiting. The leaves rustled in the trees as a faint breeze blew through the air, and Nikki couldn't be farther from her element at that moment.

The dirt path she walked on winded around thick tree trunks, and she found herself stepping over fallen logs and muddy water puddles as she checked the time on her phone. Nearing half past five, she picked up the pace, moving at a brisk jog and watching the leaves of the trees turning into a blur of green and brown as she ran by. Birds chirped overhead as the forest gave way to a wide open area, the school building visible just past the bleachers before her. Nikki scaled the fence of the football field effortlessly, an enormous grin spreading across her face as she made her way across the turf. She eyed the track that encircled the fake grass and separated it from the bleachers on either side of the field, making a mental note that she should get back into shape for the upcoming track season later in the year. She continued her jog across the field, her feet eventually making contact with the harder pavement on the path that led directly to the school. A sudden gust of wind blew against her, causing goosebumps to form on her skin briefly despite the humid air and warm temperatures. As she neared the doors, she spied a figure clad in a blue hoodie reclining on a bench by the curb. Their hood was drawn up and shut tightly, almost as if they were trying to block out any light, sound, and human contact they would encounter. A tuft of curly black hair and a tan pointed nose protruded from a miniscule opening at the front, giving away the person's identity almost immediately.

A simple hood would be no match for Nikki.

The green-haired girl bounded over to Max's sleeping form, plopping down on the bench beside him and hoping her excessive movement would rouse him from his nap. When it didn't however, she frowned and resorted to more drastic measures. Leaning over, she outstretched her hand and poked her finger into the tiny hole, wiggling it around in the most aggravating way she thought possible.

"Max, wake up already!" She whined, pressing her fingertip into the boy's soft skin. He flinched, slowly lifting his hands up and pulling on the hood to loosen it and reveal his face.

"Nikki, when did you get here?" He asked, his words slurred as a result of his drowsiness. She beamed at him, swinging her legs around as she pulled herself up farther onto the bench to let them dangle over its edge.

"Just now. You looked kind of like a homeless dude, so I thought it would be best to wake you up. You never know around these parts!" She joked, eyes practically sparkling in the low early morning light. Max rolled his eyes and pulled off his hood, and she watched as his face transitioned from a tired look to his more common scowl. He muttered a sarcastic and half-hearted "gee, thanks" and promptly pulled out his phone, causing the girl beside him to frown. "Aw, Max, I walked all this way from my house, and this is how you greet your best friend you haven't seen in a while?" She teased, wrapping her arms around him in a crushing hug. His eyes nearly bugged out of his head from the force she applied onto his body, and he turned his head to face her, the scowl on his face indicative of his discomfort.

"Nik, we hung out for the entire day yesterday," he struggled in her grip, and his voice was strained as she crushed his chest against hers.

"I know Max, but it still feels like so long ago!" She gave a small laugh and squeezed the boy harder than before, and his face reddened as he struggled to breathe.

"Nikki, stop!" Max grunted out, pushing her away a bit more forcefully than he meant to. She could see the look of guilt that flashed across his face, but thankfully it disappeared when she made the right call to shoot a wide grin at him. His frown returned, and he huffed as he turned away from her. "You know, people tend to mature after seven years, but I'm not so sure that applies to you."

"Liar! I've changed plenty!" Nikki countered, pouting and running her fingers through her long hair. Maybe Max was too aloof to see it, but she had grown a fair bit, nearly keeping up with him in terms of height. She had also toned down her crazy antics such as biting people as well, though a few of her quirks such as cross-species communication and her love of mud had remained. She liked to think she wasn't quite as rowdy as before, however.

"You know what Nikki? I think you're right. Your periods have gotten worse over the years," Max said in a sarcastic tone, his eyes glued to his phone once more. Nikki gasped, brows furrowing as her face contorted in anger.

"What did you just say!?" She roared, raising her hand threateningly while leaning forward. Max looked up just in time to see a hand flying towards his face, and he screamed briefly before a loud _smack_ reverberated through the quiet morning air.

"Ow! Nik, what the hell?" He turned to face her, his glare quickly morphing into a look of fear as he shrank away from his friend's fury.

"_What the hell?_ You're seriously gonna ask that?" She crossed her arms over her chest. "_You_ might think jokes like that are funny, but they're really not." She watched as he rubbed his cheek, the skin already turning a bright red in the vague shape of her hand.

"Jesus, alright. I won't say something like that again," the black-haired teen said, grimacing as he saw the hand print on his face in the phone's camera. "Let's head inside. I'm tired of waiting around out here." He stood up from the bench, throwing his backpack over his shoulder and watching as Nikki did the same.

"Aren't you excited, Max? It's the first day!" She grinned, her wrath from several seconds ago seemingly evaporating into thin air as it was replaced by her usual cheery self. Her friend scoffed as they walked side-by-side past the double doors into the school.

"As if. School sucks. It's worse than camp. At least we could do whatever we wanted there; it's like a prison here. Do this, do that, this is due Monday, you have a test Thursday, team up with three random-ass people you don't know for this project due in two weeks. It's the same stupid bullshit." They made their way past Sleepy Peak High's trophy case, filled with various awards earned by the students through the years. Nikki glanced over, eyeing the track and field trophy she and her teammates won at regionals last year before shifting her focus back to Max, giggling at his usual irritable attitude.

"Don't be so grumpy, Max. I think school is a great way to spice up our lives! Summer is great and all, but now that we don't go to camp there isn't much to do around Sleepy Peak." She gave him a toothy grin. "There's always stuff happening around here, you know? Every day is different."

Max groaned. "You sound like David. It's too early for this," he grumbled, rubbing his face into his palms as they walked. Nikki tilted her head quizzically as they passed by several staff members and teachers whose rooms were on the first floor.

"David? Nah, he'd sound more like this!" She straightened her back and her grin stretched wider than what Max thought was physically possible. Her voice increased in pitch, cracking a bit as she spoke in a voice that was eerily similar to his father. "'Oh son, don't be so negative! This year's going to be great, I just know it! You're going to make so many new friends! Oh, and maybe you'll find a club that you like!' And then he'd give you a big hug and then you'd push him away!" She giggled as she mocked David the best she could. Though he had certainly mellowed out over the years, there was always the cynical, sullen side of Max that would never go away. She liked it though- it was what made him, well, him. What she didn't tell him was that she liked the other side of him- the gentler, more compassionate side that rarely appeared.

He grumbled something that she didn't quite catch and rounded the corner into another hallway, where he went through a set of doors and began ascending the flight of stairs before them. She followed behind him, the two arriving at the second floor and walking into the hallway where David's class was located. She could see his tall, lanky figure at the other end, standing and leaning against the doorframe as he chatted with the teacher next door. He turned and saw the two teenagers approaching, and he gave a friendly wave. "Hey you two! I wasn't expecting you guys to be coming here this early. Where's Neil?" Max cocked an eyebrow at his father.

"We got here at like five David," he said, acid laced in his tongue. "And he's not going to be here for the next fucking hour or so because unlike you, he's a normal person who gets up at a normal time." David laughed while the other teacher, who Nikki recognized as Mr. Smith, the statistics teacher, cocked an eyebrow at her best friend's foul language.

"Well, you know what I always tell you, Max! The early bird gets the- "

"Jeez, I get it already! The early bird gets the worm, or whatever!" Max shouted, exasperated. He shrugged off the hand David had placed on his shoulder and he trudged into the room.

"Don't you think you should do something about his behavior?" Mr. Smith questioned, and David chuckled.

"Don't worry, that's just Max being Max. There's no changing that about him," he reassured, his eyes following his son's retreating form with a fond smile on his face as Nikki gave him a wide smile and chipper "good morning" and followed after Max. She found him sliding into a seat in the corner of the room furthest from David's desk, and she sat in the desk beside him. A beat, and he sighed, rubbing his temple.

"You know Nik, I still don't know how I ended up living with him and Gwen of all people."

"I mean, you ended up with them because you ran away from your own family when you turned thirteen and had no one else to go to?" She shrank back slightly when he gave her a scathing look. "Sorry."

He grunted and pulled out his phone again, and she watched as he scrolled through memes, something she found he did when he was bored. She bit her lip, sitting in silence as she struggled to find something to talk about and potentially lighten Max's mood. Looking around, she took in all of David's decorations; from the small bookshelf displaying the man's knick-knacks, the neatly laminated inspirational quotes hung up on the walls, the guitar leaning against his desk, the small pine trees made of green construction paper he taped to the shelves and cabinets, and the green and yellow Camp Campbell flag that he proudly put up on the wall just above the chalkboard. She stared at it intently, feeling a wave of warm nostalgia washing over her as she recalled the many memories she made at camp.

"Do you miss camp?" She asked suddenly, her eyes widening as she realized she had asked the question aloud. Looking at Max, she found he didn't bother looking up from his screen despite giving her a response.

"What?"

"I said, do you miss camp?"

He looked up at her then. "What makes you ask all of a sudden?" He cocked an eyebrow at her question, and the green-haired girl tugged at the hem of her t-shirt under his gaze.

"Well, uh, I saw the flag your dad hung up above the board," she said, pointing up at the large swath of fabric. He glanced at it, and she caught the ghost of a smile on his lips before it morphed back into its usual frown.

"I mean, if I'm being honest, yes and no." She did a double-take at his response, expecting him to immediately reply with a curt "no" like he often did to questions regarding his time at summer camp. He casually tossed his phone onto his desk, which landed on its side before falling flat with the screen face-down. "Don't get me wrong, that place was shitty as all hell. It was always hot and sticky, the food sucked ass, the stupid platypus always bothered me, Gwen and David were always nagging me, and you and Neil were always dragging me into some stupid shit you guys were doing when I wanted to relax." Nikki cracked a smile at Max's words, the time when she and him were forced to take care of the platypus egg replaying in her mind prominently as he continued.

"But... it's because of that camp that I have friends. It's because of that camp that I have a real family now. It's where I met Neil and everyone else. Hell, it's where I met you, Nik," he finished, rubbing the back of his neck and looking rather sheepish. "God, what am I saying? Gwen was right, maybe I really _have_ gone soft," he lamented. Nikki was taken aback, a wide smile forming on her face as she processed the words that had just come out of his mouth.  
"Aw, Max, you big goof," she giggled, throwing her arms around his shoulders in another one of her bone-crushing hugs. Despite them hugging many times in the years that they had known each other, he still flinched at her touch, and his face flushed red as he stiffened and rolled his eyes.

"Whatever. Don't look too deep into this," he said, though after a pause he wrapped his arms around her smaller frame. They sat in the hug for several more seconds before he let go, and she found herself missing his warmth as she pulled away and sat back in her chair. "Sorry for getting all sappy on you," Max apologized. "I think David might be rubbing off on me."

Nikki chortled. "Heh, don't apologize, dummy. It's a bit weird since you're always so angry all the time, but I kinda like this side of you more," she said, smiling as the shade of red that dusted his cheeks deepened.

"Shut up."

With Max's mood restored, the two conversed further about their time at camp and their past summers for a time before shifting the conversation to their classes, friends, and their future plans for the new semester. She had even seen him crack a smile as they momentarily digressed into a debate about whether tomatoes were a fruit or vegetable, something she and him had argued about with Neil many times over. He had just asked her about how she was feeling about the track and field season when the first bell rang loudly, interrupting them.

"Rude..." Nikki muttered, turning back to her friend after shooting a glare at the speaker grate on the ceiling. "Anyways, I'm pretty excited. Track is the perfect way to use up all my energy. It's the only thing I've found that actually makes me super tired."

Max snorted. "That's because you still have the energy of an eight-year-old, even though you're sixteen. I still can't believe you eat as much as you do and aren't obese already." She laughed, waving a hand at him.

"What can I say? Girls like me need their energy, Max." He cracked a smile at her as she heard someone approaching from her left.

"It's called high metabolism, Nikki." Neil tossed his backpack onto the ground, a loud scraping sound filling the room as he pulled out his chair from under the desk in front of Max and sat down.

"No one cares, Neil. What took you so long? The first bell rings at seven and you said you leave your house at six-fifty. It's ten after and I know for a fact that you're at your dad's house and you drive yourself so you don't have to wait for your parents and that the drive doesn't take twenty minutes," Max questioned, and Neil faced him, huffing irritably as he fixed the collar of the plaid button-up shirt he wore.

"First off, don't talk in run-on sentences. I thought your dad would've taught you that, since he teaches English and all." Max growled at him as he continued. "And I got here at almost seven, but then some asshole took my parking spot in the student lot! Then I argued with him and had to find another spot in the very back!" He threw his arms into the air angrily. "And then it was just my luck that Tabii happened to see me walking into the school, and I had to deal with her until I told her I needed to use the bathroom!"

"Wow Neil, you're off to a great start today," Nikki snickered. "How'd you get out of the bathroom though? I mean I figured that she'd stand and wait for you outside."

"Oh, you won't believe this, but I flipped open the window in the corner and crawled out into the courtyard," he replied, a smirk on his face. "Then I came here."  
"Huh, that's actually pretty crafty. I'm sure Harrison would be proud of your disappearing act," Max commented as the boy in question walked through the doors of the classroom with Nerris at his side. "Speak of the devil."

"Hey guys! Long time no see!" Harrison grinned, taking a seat next to Neil and in front of Nikki.

"Hi Harrison! Hey Nerris!" Nikki greeted, grinning at her two friends.

"It's been awhile, hasn't it?" Nerris said, adjusting her glasses further up her nose. Neither of them had changed much since their days at Camp Campbell; Harrison had let his hair grow out slightly longer than before and traded the old outfit Nikki remembered him wearing so frequently for a polo and cargo shorts, while Nerris had gotten rectangular glasses to replace her old round ones. Her hair fell freely from her head down her shoulders from under the beanie perched atop her head, and her smile revealed teeth free of braces.

"You guys act like the last time we saw each other was a lifetime ago, but we hung out multiple times over the summer," Max pointed out, but his comment went unnoticed by the others as Nikki pointed a finger at her dark-skinned friend.

"I forgot! You got your braces off this past summer, Nerris!" The girl blushed slightly as the focus of the conversation shifted to her.

"Yeah, it's definitely freeing. Now I don't have to worry about what I'm eating and stuff like that." She twirled her hair between her fingers.

"Don't forget about your lisp, too," Harrison laughed, but was quickly silenced by the withering glare she sent his way.

"A-Anyway," Neil cut in before the two could escalate things further. "What classes do you guys have after this?"

"I have history with Ms. Johnson, and Nerris has precalculus. What about you guys?"

"I have anatomy next. Ugh, I hope Tabii didn't sign up for that class just because I did," Neil whined as they all turned to Nikki and Max. It took a moment before Nikki realized the question was now being directed at her, and she blurted out her answer quickly.

"Art!" She then turned to Max, who sighed as he focused on his phone again.

"Yeah, me too. I think. I dunno, my next class was with one of you two," he said, lazily gesturing to her and Neil.

Dolph and Preston arrived next, followed by the Wood Scouts, who marched in wordlessly and took their seats on the opposite side of the room in the corner as the second bell rang loudly through the halls of the school.

"Hi Dolph!" Nikki greeted the smaller boy with a wave and was given one in return as Nurf entered the room behind him.

"'Sup losers?" The football player greeted affectionately. Since they began high school, Nurf had decided to join the football team, and quickly rose to become one of the top players. Like Nikki, he was also slated to become the team captain next year, and though a few of them had their doubts considering his anger issues, he had done a remarkable job of restraining his temper and redirecting it to push himself in the school's workout room.

"Hey Nurf," Neil smiled as the ginger occupied the seat next to Preston.

"Isn't this exciting? All of us, back together again!" The actor chuckled, running a hand back through his hair. Unlike Nurf, Preston hadn't found immediate success in high school- he struggled somewhat as an actor onstage, being overshadowed by the upperclassmen and their years' worth of experience. He had made headlines the past year however, when the theatre program found they couldn't afford the royalty payments to put on a rendition of a show. He quickly wrote out an entire script for a play of his own creation, and since opening night he became an integral part of the program.

"Yes, indeed! It's been awhile since we've all been able to share a class together!" Dolph agreed with Preston's statement. The young man looked as if he was a grade or two behind the others, but he tended to focus more on his art than anything else, which paid off when he won the art competition hosted by the school last summer.

The second bell rang at the exact moment Ered slipped into the classroom, sliding into the seat beside Nikki. "Yo," she addressed her friends, who welcomed her in their own quirky ways.

"Lookin' slick," Nurf complimented, and the blonde flipped her hair. Of the Campbell campers, Ered had probably changed the least- she still wore her leather jacket over a rock band shirt, ripped jeans and boots completing her ensemble.

"Hi, Ered," Nikki had stars in her eyes as she greeted her role model, who responded without missing a beat.

"Hey Nik. Didn't know I had this class with all of you guys."

"Trust me, I didn't either. What is this supposed to be, some sort of high school reunion? I thought those weren't supposed to happen until _after_ graduation," Max sneered. Nikki giggled.

"Aw, Max, don't act like you're not happy to see everyone again! I mean, you did say that you missed camp a couple of minutes ago," she teased, causing his spine to stiffen and his face to resemble a tomato.

"What? Nikki, I didn't say that!" He shouted, clenching his fist and pounding it on the desk. Neil raised an eyebrow while the others leaned forward in anticipation, wide grins on their faces as they prepared to tease their ever-grouchy friend. Before any of them could get out another word, the Flower Scouts strode into the room, led by none other than Sasha. Max quickly glanced over and took the opportunity to deflect the attention of his peers, pointing a finger at Tabii.

"Hey Neil, look who it is! Say hi to Tabii!" He grinned as the blonde turned her head at the mention of her name, and immediately stomped over.

"Dude!" Neil scowled, narrowing his eyes at his friend before he found his face in Tabii's hands.

"Where did you go this morning!? Do you know how long I was waiting in front of that smelly bathroom for you? You know it's not polite to keep a lady waiting! You better not have gone to see another girl! You _know_ what happened to Rachel, don't you!?" Her sentences flew from her mouth rapid-fire as she shook Neil furiously, his friends laughing at his misfortune and Max and Nikki cackling in the back of the room. Space Kid stumbled into the room just as the final bell rang, collapsing into the seat in front of Neil as Tabii let go of the poor boy's face and took her seat near the front of the room with Sasha and Erin, grumbling along the way back to her friends.

"Hey guys! Whoa, Neil, what happened to you?" Space Kid snickered as Neil adjusted his afro, its shape having been damaged after the blonde's wild antics and excessive screaming.

"Tabii happened," Nikki tittered, and the wannabe astronaut broke into a fit of laughter. He still preferred Space Kid partly because of the memories he associated with the nickname since camp but also so no one would be confused about which Neil they were talking about. He was still on the pudgier side, though not nearly as large as Nurf, and surprisingly became one of the best students of the group, even if his common sense was still lacking.

Wrapping up his conversation with Mr. Smith, David zipped into the room, standing at the front of the class and facing the chalkboard. Picking up a small piece of chalk, he quickly scribbled out his name in large block letters, followed by a cartoony drawing of a pine tree next to it. Dusting his hands off on his pants, he strode over to his desk, picking up the clipboard and pencil that he had placed there earlier in the morning and stood again in front of the class. His eyes surveyed his students, and he grinned as he spied his son in the back.

"Good morning, kiddos! Who's ready to start?" He asked cheerily, and Nikki heard Max groan beside her.

"Ah fuck."


End file.
